Provincial and federal officials joined with members of Eskasoni band council, elders and other dignitaries to announce the construction of a long-term care facility in the First Nation community. Construction is due to begin next year. - Nancy King

ESKASONI, N.S. —

A three-pronged announcement Tuesday will allow Eskasoni to better care for its elders while also setting the stage for future development in the First Nation community.

Federal and provincial officials joined with members of the band council to announce construction of a long-term care facility and the installation of fibre optic cable to allow for high-speed internet for the residents of Eskasoni.

In addition, it was announced that Eskasoni has received federal approval to add more than 210 acres (86.5 hectares) to its reserve lands. The long-term care home will be built on part of those lands.

The new 48-bed nursing home has been granted almost $19.7 million in federal funding while the province is contributing $6.563 million. Construction is due to begin in 2020. It will support the community’s culture, language and traditions.

Members of the community turned out in force at an event took place in Eskasoni Tuesday where it was announced that a new long-term care home in the community and a project to bring high-speed Internet had received federal and provincial funding.

Eskasoni Chief Leroy Denny said the building — to be called Kiknu, or “our house” — will be designed to resemble a turtle, a symbol sacred to the culture.

“It represents our grandmothers, it represents our land,” he said.

“We know that the best projects come from the communities themselves,” said Bernadette Jordan, federal minister for Rural Economic Development. “They know what they need and they know what’s important to them, and we want to make sure we facilitate that.”

Premier Stephen McNeil said in working with chiefs, the importance of recognizing the uniqueness of the culture of each community has become apparent.

“Their vision of passing on the culture to the young people is important,” McNeil told reporters.

“This is a major opportunity for the community. Not only is it a rural community, it’s obviously one that has a keep cultural importance in it. This facility will respond to that.”

He added the province historically had a terrible record of removing Mi’kmaq children from their communities and culture, and he called this the next phase of ensuring that culture is an integral part of how the province delivers services.

He noted that, in addition to allowing elders to receive care in their home community, the long-term care facility will also provide an opportunity for the young people of the community to build lives for themselves in Eskasoni, as it will provide good-paying skilled jobs.

The residential fibre optic project has attracted almost $2.5 million from Ottawa and $835,275 form the province.

“We know how important high-speed internet is and making sure Canadians are connected,” Jordan said.

Indigenous people will be hired to install, maintain and support the network.

“As our young people are getting more and more educated, they need opportunities,” Denny said.

He noted access to high-speed internet will also open other opportunities for Eskasoni residents through video conferencing and online courses.

The federal money for the projects came from the community, cultural and recreation stream of the investing in Canada plan.

Members of the Eskasoni women's drum group perform an event in Eskasoni on Tuesday where it was announced that a new long-term care home in the community and a project to bring high-speed Internet had received federal and provincial funding.

Denny said the band had purchased land several years ago and began the process of officially expanding the community boundaries under the federal addition to reserve process, which took almost four years.

The additional land is at the western edge of the reserve and will be used for commercial and residential development. It’s the first time Eskasoni went through the process required to add land to the reserve.

While the community is spread out, Denny said there are some challenging features, including mountains and shoreline, which made the idea of expanding the land base attractive.

The land could also potentially be home to a new high school, in the future, he added.